The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for inhibiting the degeneration of cells including liver cells by drugs and relieving the toxicity of drugs to internal organs including the liver, which contains as a pharmaceutically active component an organogermanium compound with or without a suitable carrier.
The organogermanium compounds have now attracted much attention in view of their pharmacological activities. Problems with such compounds, however, are that they act differently from lot to lot and remain unclarified in terms of their specific activities (Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 46(1971)-2964 and 58(1983)-44677).
Later, it has been found that, like vinyl chloride and organosilicon compounds, the organogermanium compounds differ slightly in their polymerizability and sophisticated chemical structures and exist in the form of structures having different physical properties, resulting in the industrial preparation of their active substances being well established simultaneously with the identification of them (U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,412).
More recently, the inventors have successfully developed a process for stabilizing the high activity of the analogous compounds, whereby the reproducibility of their pharmacological activities with respect to a predetermined amount can be confirmed. This suggests that they can possibly be used in the form of various medications (U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,715).
The toxicity of drugs and poisonous substances to internal organs and their teratogenicity appear as side-effects in the case of the former and present a social problem including environmental pollution in the case of the latter. These problems can never be solved without removing their leading causes, and are thus still allowed to slumber, although the development of some antidotes is in the making.
Patients with organic diseases, esp., those with liver and kidney diseases, are so impeded in detoxication and excretion that, while having received drug treatments, they are likely to develop side effects such as disorders, e.g. anaphylaxis and acute organic malfunctions or, at worst, die of them.
Having a strong toxicity to internal organs, hard-hitting drugs for inhibiting cytotoxicity and the synthesis of nucleic acid, for instance, carcinostatics, are generally said to be a double-edged sword.
The abuses of drinking and smoking and the uptake of methyl mercury, heavy metal ions, etc. in the body cause the degeneration of tissue cells and organic disorders, becoming a social problem.
As already mentioned, it is believed that such problems can never be solved without removing their leading causes. In the case of medication, the side-effect problem may be solved to some extent by reducing dose or avoiding the use of drugs showing an increased toxicity to internal organs. For patients in need of emergent or intensive therapy, e.g. people with deadened tissue and organs, esp. those with cancer or infective diseases or pregnant women, however, it is desired to develop how to use, with greater safety, drugs showing a hard-hitting cytopathic action or a threatening toxicity to internal organs. It is also desired to establish therapy for preventing a deadening of the functioning of tissue incidental to aging.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a composition for inhibiting the degeneration of cells including liver cells by drugs and relieving the toxicity of drugs to internal organs including the liver, which meets such demands.